Nepola's Odyssey
Nepola's Odyssey is a 2011 American 3D computer-animated fantasy comedy adventure film produced by Universal Animation Studios and distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Geo G. from a screenplay by Gary Hall, Peter Baynham, and Jordan Roberts, and a story by Geo, Audel LaRoque, Michael Wildshill, and Hall. The film features the voices of Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Banks, Elijah Wood, Seth Rogen, Peter Dinklage, Julia Roberts, Zachary Gordon, and Chloë Grace Moretz. Taking place in Ancient Greece, the film follows a young woman who embarks on a journey to find the mysterious realm of Greek gods, hoping they could help her become a powerful goddess. Nepola's Odyssey premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 3, 2011, and was released in the United States on September 23, 2011. It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its animation, humor, visual style, and vocal performances, particularly of Parker, Banks, Wood, and Rogen. The film earned a total of $445 million worldwide against a budget of $85 million. It launched an expanded franchise, with a sequel, Nepola's Odyssey II, released in December 2014 and a television series based on the film on Universal Kids in December 2017, which serves as a follow-up to the second film. Plot Coming soon! Voice cast :Further information: List of Nepola's Odyssey characters *Sarah Jessica Parker as Nepola, a sarcastic, kind, curious woman who wants to become a goddess. **Ava Acres voices a young Nepola. *Elizabeth Banks as Medusa, a wicked, greedy, ruthless humanoid monster with snakes on her head. *Elijah Wood as Perseus, a mortal boy who follows Nepola along. *Seth Rogen as Deimos, Nepola's wise-cracking talking rodent friend. *Peter Dinklage as Zeus, the ruler of the Greek gods. *Julia Roberts as Hera, Zeus' wife and assistant. *Zachary Gordon and Chloë Grace Moretz as Eric and Lilas respectively, a pair of siblings who look up to Nepola. *Alex Borstein as Astydameia, Nepola's mother. *Jack McBrayer as Hades, the god of the underworld. *Gary Hall as Apollo *Kari Wahlgren as Pandora *Jim Cummings as the Cyclops *Ariel Winter as Little Girl *Michael Gough as Dionysus *Geo G. and Michael Wildshill as Phobos and Deimos *Frank Welker as Cerberus and Medusa's snakes Additional voices *Chris Abazzi *Isabella Acres *Alexander Bates *Ava Benavente *Ivan Bilancio *Ranjani Brow *William Calvert *Cam Clarke *June Christopher *Cooper Cowgill *David Cowgill *Makenna Cowgill *Debi Derryberry *Holly Dorff *Eddie Frierson *Don Fullilove *Jackie Gonneau *Emily Hahn *Bridget Hoffman *Wendy Hoffman *Richard Horvitz *Matthew Ford Holt *Rif Hutton *William Jennings *Mona Marshall *Amy McNeill *Scott Menville *Edie Mirman *Jonathan Nichols *Paul Pape *Peter Renaday *Kevin Michael Richardson *Lynwood Robinson *Warren Sroka *Claira Nicole Titman *Marcelo Tubert *Michael Wildshill *Skye Wildshill *Dave Zyler Production Nepola's Odyssey had been in development since late 2003 following work on Zina and the Vivid Crew, when Geo G. first developed the film's concept. The idea for the film came from Geo's childhood when he made up his own gods and goddesses in the Greek mythology. When production on Zina and the Vivid Crew was finished, Geo pitched the idea to Michael Wildshill, who decided to have the film produced through the Universal Feature Animation division by which Geo signed on. Geo, Wildshill, Audel LaRoque, Gary Hall and Steve Samono visited the house where Geo first pitched his animated series Gabriel Garza, and came up with the story for the film over a weekend in 2006; LaRoque then wrote a treatment. The film was officially announced by Universal Animation on February 1, 2008. Geo was announced as director, with Hall, Peter Baynham and Jordan Roberts writing the film's screenplay. Eventually, DreamWorks Animation's Teresa Cheng was pitched in to assist with the production. Geo, who had been working with the writers and story development artists on the film since mid-2007, said he felt pressure to avoid creating "the first dud" for Universal. Release The premiere of Nepola's Odyssey took place on September 3, 2011, at the Toronto International Film Festival. In the United States, it had been scheduled to be released in the United States on July 8, 2011, but in December 2010, it was rescheduled two months later to September 23, 2011 to avoid competition with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Marketing Universal teamed up with several major companies to promote the film, including McDonald's, who included 8 toys in their Happy Meals featuring the main characters, and Airheads, who made limited-edition flavors "The Greek Flavor" and "Nepola's Strawberry Taste". Home media Nepola's Odyssey was released in the United States and Canada on DVD and Blu-ray on January 17, 2012, with a standalone single-disc DVD release being released on that same day. The release included the traditionally animated short film Zeus on the Loose. The film was re-issued on Blu-ray on December 9, 2014. It includes a movie ticket to its sequel Nepola's Odyssey II. It was released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 21, 2017. Video game A video game based on the film was published by THQ and released on September 20, 2011, for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and the Xbox 360. Soundtrack Reception Box office Nepola's Odyssey grossed $161.7 million in North America and $283.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $445.3 million. Critical response Nepola's Odyssey received generally positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 76% with an average rating of 6.2/10, with the consensus stating "Emotionally effective, visually stunning, and wholly witty, Nepola's Odyssey rides the familiar concept to a grand effect that will satisfy both children and adults." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has an average score of 63 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Accolades Sequel A sequel titled Nepola's Odyssey II was released on December 12, 2014. It was directed again by Geo G., written by Geo, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja and Brian Lynch, and produced by Teresa Cheng and John Cohen. Sarah Jessica Parker, Elijah Wood, Seth Rogen, Peter Dinklage, Julia Roberts, Zachary Gordon, Chloë Grace Moretz, Alex Borstein, and Jack McBrayer reprised their roles, joined by new cast members including Max Charles, Isla Fisher, David Tennant, Jake T. Austin, Kristen Schaal, Rob Corddry, Chris Parnell, Bobby Moynihan, and Kenan Thompson. In the sequel, Nepola, Perseus, and their new son Mestor go visit Nepola's childhood friend, the goddess of the rainbow Iris, along with her family. But the reunion quickly takes a bizarre turn when Pandora comes in, with emerging plans to unleash her cursed box with her miseries to get rid of her rivals. Other media Media In September 2011, a manga version of Nepola's Odyssey was made by Hiromi Yamafuji and distributed in Kodansha's Monthly Shōnen Rival magazine in Japan; the manga was published in English by Tokyopop. Television specials Coming soon! Television series Transcripts Main To see the main transcript of the film, click here. Trailers To see the transcript for the trailers of the film, click here. Category:Films Category:2011 Category:2010s Category:Nepola's Odyssey Category:Universal Pictures animated films Category:Universal Animation Studios animated films Category:PG-rated films